Duty
by Grasshopper
Summary: //30memories, George x Yukari// Friends don't let friends get married without just cause.


**Title:** Duty  
**Author:** Grasshopper (A.K.A. The Undertaker's Muse)  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Series:** 30memories  
**Warnings:** Het, angst, slight language.  
**Fandom:** Paradise Kiss  
**Spoilers:** Up through the end of the series.  
**Pairings:** Koizumi George + Hayasaka Yukari, mentioned Tokumori Hiroyuki x Hayasaka Yukari, Tokumori Hiroyuki + Sakurada Miwako, Nagase Arashi x Sakurada Miwako.  
**Summary:** Friends don't let friends get married without just cause.  
**Author's Notes:** Arashi perspective - wtf? Well, I'm getting closer and closer to an actual George/Yukari happy ending, which is good. I keep this up and my NaNoWriMo 2006 novel **won't** be the first happy ending I write for them.  
**Disclaimer:** All things _Paradise Kiss_ belong to Yazawa Ai-sensei. Grassy only lays claim to the plot.

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**(25.) Zinnia; Thoughts of friends**

Arashi had never been a fan of Yukari's relationship, such as it was, with George. She'd had nothing but heartbreak looming ahead of her, and Arashi - the only one who seemed to give a damn about the entire mess's fallout - had voiced his objections, despite Miwako's disapproval.

He'd felt justified in his opinion when his predictions came to pass, but at the same time he hurt for his friends. George, despite being his deviant bastard self, **had** cared for Yukari to an astounding extent. And Yukari…

Yukari had been heartbroken, though she tried to keep it from everyone as best she could. She'd picked herself up and moved past the heartache admirably, though something in her had been forever changed.

Arashi still didn't like to acknowledge the fact that he couldn't allow himself to call her Caroline unless she was wearing an outfit obviously of George's design. Miwako had no problems in that area, but Miwako was Miwako; she saw things in people that most didn't, which, he was certain, was the reason she was with him.

It was Miwako's unstated and, he was certain, barely self-admitted disinclination toward Yukari and Hiro's engagement that made Arashi wonder if this was a very good move for either of his friends.

Hiro, Arashi knew, was still in love with Miwako. It was such a part of him, that to **not** love her would mean he wasn't himself. And if something happened to Arashi, he knew that Hiro would love Miwako in his place, much as Arashi didn't like to think of such a thing.

So was Yukari still in love with George? Would she still choose that smirking, blue-haired jackass if given the opportunity?

Was Caroline the part of Yukari that didn't truly **want** to exist without George?

Arashi didn't know if he wanted the answer to that, because if it was true… Miwako had never stopped calling their friend Caroline and the implications of that…

If both of his friends were just settling for one another in the absence of the ones they truly wanted, then Arashi couldn't condone their relationship. He couldn't protest it, like he had with Hiro and Miwako or George and Yukari, but he definitely couldn't be supportive.

Arashi knew, with their marriage and daughter as the proof of their love and devotion, that Hiro would never be with Miwako as long as Arashi lived. On the other hand, he **didn't** know if Yukari would ever be with George again. Yukari wasn't one to fool around while in a relationship, but no one was totally rational when it came to matters of the heart. Of that, Arashi knew from first-hand experience, love could - and did - do strange and desperate things to those who felt it.

And what would George do if he knew of Yukari's new engagement?

A reluctant grin crossed Arashi's features at that. Most likely, George would send a pair of tickets to whatever Broadway production he had been designing costumes for. A wedding gift and a not-so-subtle reminder that his muse should always admire his work, no matter who wore it.

Yukari would go, her new wedding ring an oddly heavy weight on her finger. She would don one of George's creations as both a "Thank You" for the tickets and as a way to let Caroline loose for a short time.

She would slip away from Hiro and speak to George, who would laugh delightedly at the sight of her. They would speak of trivial things while he smiled impudently and she ignored her wet eyes. In those moments, they would forget that they weren't together anymore and they'd be happier than they'd been since George had left for Paris.

Then Hiro would find them and the spell would be broken, the delicate butterfly turning back into a regular wedding band. They'd carefully say their goodbyes and Hiro would pretend to not know that his new bride's heart was in pieces once more.

And maybe it made him an interfering idiot, but Arashi didn't want that future to come about…for **all** of his friends' sakes, even George. Arashi only hoped that they'd forgive him for whatever he might do to prevent it.

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**The End**


End file.
